Sequel or Rehash? - Rated 
Sequel or rehash?
I've read Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Batman books in the order they've written them with Haunted Knight coming first followed by The Long Hallowe'en and finally coming to Dark Victory. I suppose Loeb ought to be congratulated for bringing the Batman stories back to their original format, that is detective/crime stories, where he brings the mob and Batman side by side as natural enemies.
Here's the story: a killer is killing people by hanging them on holidays (Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc) and leaving notes on their bodies with the hangman game on. Early on Arkham is attacked and the Batman's best loved villains escape (Joker, Two Face, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Riddler) and as the bodies pile up the pressure is on for Batman to stop this killer but he'll need help. Enter Robin.
This ain't exactly gripping stuff. If you're like me and have read a fair number of Batman you'll already know this storyline reeks of The Long Hallowe'en. The storyline is practically identical with the holiday killer (this time not the weird Falcone guy but he's in this story too) being renamed the hangman killer and the villains all escaping and Batman encountering them laboriously one by one. Also do we need to hear the same old Robin origin story?
This book is nearly 400 pages! 400 pages of rehashed material with nothing new at all. It's a chore to slog through even if you're new to Batman. Loeb can't seem to get out of 2nd gear while I'm beginning to see Sale as one of the worst Batman artists out there. Joker looks ridiculous, his smile isn't disturbing or grotesque it's stupid. It covers his entire face so that it's just a giant toothy smile with a tiny face above it. Bruce Wayne appears to be 7 feet tall. And what's with the tedious mafia characters? They're all boring stereotypes, eating spaghetti in restaurants thats a cover for smuggling operations! Come on. The press all have pieces of card with "PRESS" written on them and slotted into their hats.
This is really a miss. If you've read The Long Hallowe'en then you can count reading this too as it's completely the same. Only difference is Robin and if you know anything about Batman you'll know what happens there. Give this a miss, it's a dull, dull story and for a character as interesting as Batman that's criminal.
Very good i expected a bit more from this series - Rated 
This is a very good story. The design has a tense atmosphere and strong features and the writing is solid to drag you along for the ride. However its missing the menace felt in Long Halloween and characters don't develop their personality as much as you'd expect from this collaborative effort.
So much of the story and characters depend on Long Halloween this doesn't stand along as an outstanding comic but still a must read (basically read Long Halloween get this be happy!)
2th Only To The 1th - Rated
Dark Victory is the sequel to The Long Hallowen,the orgen of Roben,and the return of Two-Fase.In this one ther is a new halloday criminal,a gang of villens led by Two-Fase,and on top of all that Batman hast to tran Roben.The members of the gang are The Joker,Scarcrow,The Pangwen,Mr.Freez,Posen Ivey,The Mad Hater,and Solomen Grundy.Catwomen also stats a juny.If You are bing The Long Hallowen I sugest you pay estra for this.
A real spellbinder - Rated 
One of the best suspense stories that you will ever come across! It starts off with a murder that is committed on a holiday. The killer seems to play the "Hangman" game and leaves a clue each time. And just about everybody is a suspect. All the victims seem to have something in common in their past (to say anything more here would be to spoil the fun for prospective readers) The story includes the ganglords ruling Gotham at that time, and also explains the reason that Dick Grayson became Robin. It also draws parallels between the tragedies that struck Bruce Wayne as a child, and the one that took place in the early life of Dick Grayson. The graphics of this book are just great. All these factors make this book a real collector's item.
Another great graphic novel - Rated
In this sequel to Batman: The Long Halloween, a new District Attorney has plans to clean up Gotham, and her plans include cleaning up Batman. But, someone is playing Hangman, and with each new game, someone in the police department gets hanged. As if things aren't bad enough, a mass breakout from Arkham puts a lot of super-villains on the street (including Two-Face, Joker, Solomon Grundy, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, and Penguin). This is another great graphic novel, and a worthy sequel to The Long Halloween. I thought the story was nice and gripping (just like a Batman story should be!), while the illustrations were wonderfully done, making the whole read that much better. I enjoyed the Catwoman character once again, and thought that the author did a great job with the Robin character. I highly recommend this book to any, and every, Batman fan!
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